Bhubaneswar, Dec 8: Union Minister of Education and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday requested Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to take necessary steps to give the status of a medical college to the newly inaugurated Pabitra Mohan Pradhan Government Hospital at Talcher of Angul district.

CM Naveen Patnaik today inaugurated Pabitra Mohan Pradhan Government Hospital at Talcher in Odisha’s Angul district.
Union Ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Prahllad Joshi, among others, joined the event via video conference.

Speaking on the occasion, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said," The new hospital at Talcher in Odisha’s Angul district was built by the Government of India's funds and named after freedom fighter & Odisha's former Deputy Chief Minister Pabitra Mohan Pradhan. It would have been better if the hospital was inaugurated as a medical college from the first day."

Minister Pradhan further said, "This hospital has been built in collaboration with Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provide better healthcare to the people."

Pradhan thanked PM Modi, Union Coal Minister Prahllad Joshi and MCL for providing financial assistance around Rs 1,600 crore for the construction and other infrastructural development of the hospital. He also expressed gratitude to the State government for taking over the management of the hospital. The day will be remembered by the local people as the hospital is named after its son of soil, he added.

The foundation stone was laid for this hospital on September 3, 2015 in the presence of the Chief Minister and the then Union Coal and Mines Minister Piyush Goyal by the central state-owned enterprises MCL and Coal India. While the old hospital located there had 100 beds, MCL spent Rs 500 crore and expanded it to 330-bed hospital and provided other infrastructure facilities.

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On March 5, 2019, the proposed Mahanadi Institute of Medical Science and Research (MIMSAR) was inaugurated at a cost of Rs 500 crore. Later, the MCL provided Rs 628 crore for management of the hospital for next 5 years.